I was recently issued a challenge that I was hesitant to accept.

I'm a part of a coaching group (yes, coaches get coaching, too) and, last week, we were focusing on building positive habits. One of our tasks was to get up, get dressed and go outside for a walk first thing in the morning. Sure, this sounds easy enough but if you live in Newfoundland I don't have to tell you that staying in bed is often a much more appealing idea.

I decided to try accepting this habit-building task for a few reasons. First, I was invested in this course (both financially and mentally) so it wouldn't have been fair not to give it my all. Second, because I was enticed by novelty and challenge, two of the four elements that tend to engage the ADHD brain (interest, challenge, novelty and urgency).  Normally, if someone suggested I hop out of bed on a cold morning and go straight for a walk, I would have called them crazy but that's exactly what I did. I felt challenged because, for so many years, I believed I wasn't very good at rising to challenges and told myself not to even bother trying. Now I'm ready to try and prove once more that this isn't true.

What I found during my first morning walk was that it was quite easy to do and it actually made me feel great. The fresh air helped me wake up, the quiet time helped me get clear on what I wanted to achieve throughout the day, and I started to see things in my neighbourhood that I've never noticed before.

When you're trying to develop a new habit, pulling from lots of different mindsets and motivational reasons helps to make it stick. When you figure out your "why" for doing it, you're way more apt to make the change stick. While the attempt to build this new habit isn't directly related to my ADHD, it can give me a more purposeful way to start my day and it's a mindfulness exercise that can help me gain clarity on what I want to get done. The fresh air helps wake me up and I just feel better afterwards. So, it feels like a no-brainer.

And of course, a little accountability helps, too. Now it's your turn!

We're coming up on a new year which is a great time for change. What kinds of change do you want to make in your life? Think about your motivations for making this change. Then, please share in the comments below how you plan to make the habit stick. I can't wait to hear about it!